As Berkshire Hathway prepares to create a real estate franchise, the LA Times looks at some trends in the national real estate market:

But it may surprise you to know that the National Assn. of Realtors
counts 32 national and regional franchise brands in operation across the
land. And that does not include the handful of start-ups that seem to
pop up every year and then fade away.

Another surprise, perhaps, is
that only slightly more than half the nation's realty agents work under
a franchise banner. The rest — 41%, according to NAR's latest
membership profile — choose to remain independent.

At the same time, 84% of all real estate firms are independent, NAR
reports. The rest are franchises or subsidiaries of national or regional
firms. The reason: Most realty firms are one- or two-office shops with
only a handful of agents, whereas the franchises are larger offices with
more agents.

Other facts: Keller Williams is the largest franchise in terms of agents, with some 83,000
sales associates in 662 offices. But Re/Max agents appear to sell the most homes, followed by Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, Century 21 and Prudential Real Estate.